Wednesday, July 6, 2022
My Financial Journey
Welcome to Education (Financial) Wednesdays portion of my B.R.E.A.T.H.S. blog. For over 20 years, I dedicated my life to teaching. In California, I made a moderate income never to exceed $75,000 even while teaching three different jobs combined. My job and income were steady, I had great health insurance, and I thought I had a decent 401k. In all those years as an educator, I never really learned or taught much about money and finances, so in 2018, I made several changes to get on top of my finances that would pivot my current lifestyle and eventually lead to financial freedom.
My First Experiences With Money
Growing up in a single parent home with four kids taught me a lot about not having money. From free school breakfasts/lunches from 1st through 12th grade, to government cheese and powdered milk boxes, the hand-me-down clothes from neighbors (I was the eldest and only girl who grew really fast), and the holiday food and toy drives that stopped by our house every year, I really understood the difference between feast or famine, authentic or knock-off, rich or poor. Not one person talked to me about money in my youth. It wasn’t until I was 40 years old that someone finally asked me about money.
My “Ah Ha” Moment About Money
In Spring of 2018, a substitute teacher came into my classroom after school to talk to me about my class and ended up asking me about my finances. At first, I thought she was asking a rather personal question, but nobody ever had asked me before and so I never really thought about it. I went home and reviewed my assets and bills, I had no portfolio, no investments, and I couldn’t remember if I had signed up for life insurance or anything about the teacher’s retirement. How could this be? Didn’t I learn about personal finances in over 30 years of attending school? It was that moment that I made the intention to turn my mindset around with money.
Reading Books & Playing Games About Money
In the 2000’s, I used books to help me learn and teach about money. I mentioned nobody talked to me about money, but I do love reading and still have a collection of Robert Kiyosaki books that are about 20 years old (see pic above). I used to read Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad” books and play Rich Dad Ca$hflow games (computer CD and board games) to teach math skills to my K-12 students. My family still uses the CashFlow game and I still read the books as they are relevant today (see the NEW 2020 CashFlow. Since I have been more focused on other money strategies, I expanded my library with hundreds of books to help me improve multiple skills in finances including: mindset, management, investment, multiple streams of income, insurance, retirement, and even manifesting more money, travel, art, and the things we love.
More Money Resources
Since the 2010’s when social media came out, there have been a variety of ways people are spreading the word about money by leveraging social media, email lists, or a combination of both to boost their audiences. They started getting creative with ways to reach new audiences by developing more money resources like offering cheat sheets, auto-fill spreadsheets, PDF to-do lists, prayers/meditations, and ebook downloads. I created my own list of money resources including a list for manifesting wealth. Stuart Wilde’s “The Little Money Bible” suggests lighting a money candle, saying a money affirmation, and write a letter to the universe for a cash refund, etc. (see pic below).
Money Mindset Shifts for All
In the 2020’s when the pandemic hit, EVERYONE had to start thinking outside the box (literally, since we were all on lockdown), and getting creative with marketing ourselves. Money and resources were scarce to most, and lots of people were looking for people with money knowledge and strategies. This is when creatives started offering more money resources such as live video one-on-one consulting, recorded video tutorials, money mindset virtual conferences, digital money bootcamps, and money mastermind courses. I soaked up all the books, classes (virtual and face-to-face), and a variety of money resources. I was also willing to try any money manifesting trick, joined an online money support group, hired a money coach (see pic below), and now I am sharing how my mindset has shifted on my financial journey.
Conclusion
Thank you for following along on my financial journey. I share my personal money mindsets because I wish someone had talked to me much sooner about money, and maybe my story resonates with you and can help you elevate your knowledge and mindset about money. So, in case no one has asked, I will ask you, “what is your relationship with money?” Please feel free to leave your answer below in the comments.
Much gratitude reading for sharing your money mindsets,
Dr. Jaime Brainerd, E.d.D.
I agree and wish my parents talked to me about money when I was younger. Sadly, my fear of math got in the way of realizing how important it was back then. Now, I want to know everything and don’t know where to start – except to ask my husband. I don’t plan to make the same mistake with my kids.